All That You've Lost
by Agent Malkere
Summary: Leia told Han to leave and is going to marry Isolder, but reality about her feelings for Han are finaly catching up with her. Please R & R! CHAPTER 6 FINALLY UP!
1. Chapter 1

Leia frowned at the drawer, that was probably where she'd put her files on Akkinth. Of course, she just had to leave it in the one place in her desk that she'd probably never be able to retrieve it from – that drawer _always_ stuck. Sighing, Leia knelt down to get a good grip on the handle. At this rate, she'd be not only late for her meeting, but completely uninformed and unprepared as well!

She gritted her teeth and gave the drawer a hard tug. It didn't budge. If Isolder had been there, he probably have been able to pull the drawer for her in a second but he was back on the Hapes for the time being to discuss their wedding with the Ta'a Chume.

The princess pulled again and felt a sight give. Leia ran a hand over her intricately braided hair and decided to give it one more try before she gave up and left for her meeting with the Akkinthian senator. With both feet flat against her desk on either side of the offending drawer, Leia gave it one last almighty heave. The drawer shot out of her desk sending papers flying in every which direction and leaving Leia sprawled on her back. Sitting up, slightly dazed, she began to gather up the strewn documents, sure enough her Akkinth file was laying on top of the mess. She reached down to pick it up, but stopped as she caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye. It was the back of a small 2-D holo frame.

Leia reach down and flipped over the frame and let out a small gasp. The holo was from a little over a year ago; it showed Leia and Han, on the one and only vacation they'd ever managed, standing arm in arm on the beach. The princess felt a painful lump rising in her throat as she stared at the two happy faces smiling for the holographer. She had tried not to think about Han in the past two months, ever since she'd all but told him to leave and not bother her any more. Han looked different in the holo then when Leia had last seen him, though. He looked younger, rested, happy, full of life. When she'd last seen him, Han had looked gray from fatigue and stress. He'd practically seemed to have one foot in the grave. At the time, Leia hadn't really noticed, she'd just put down his attitude as paranoia and wondered how she'd ever deluded herself into believing she loved him.

_I've seen too much death recently._ That's what he'd told her aboard the _Falcon_ and Leia had ignored him. Tears began to brim in Leia's eyes.

_He'd just gotten back for chasing down Zinji_, Leia thought. _How could I have done that to him?_

Leia continued to stare at the holo. She'd be late for her meeting now but she didn't care any more. It had been a mistake, everything she'd done since Isolder had arrived had been a mistake. _No_, she corrected herself._ Something's only a mistake if you go back and fix it. If you don't do anything, then it's a problem and I can't fix any of why I've done!_ Tears were rolling freely down Leia's cheeks now. How could she have been so careless? She had pushed the one man she truly loved out of her life because of material goods and for the New Republic. The princess let out a sort bark of mirthless laughter. Life? What life? She didn't have a life. She had the New Republic and the same New Republic that seemed to be giving freedom to every being but her. Leia knew she shouldn't cry. She should go to her meeting, but she couldn't stop staring at the holo and seeing all the happiness it represnted, all the happiness she'd lost. Leia had been lieing to herself for the past two months. She really did love Han, not Isolder, and she'd lost him like she'd lost Alderaan and her adopted father.

_Oh, Han, what have I done?_


	2. Chapter 2

"General Solo? General Solo?" The quiet knocking on his office door jolted Han Solo from the light doze he'd drifted into. Quickly, he sat up running his fingers through his hair and attempting to smooth the rumples out of his uniform, so it wouldn't look as though he'd been asleep. Shuffling the papers he'd been sleeping on into a neater pile, he called,

"Come in." A young woman stuck her head around the door and let out an annoyed sigh as she took in his appearance,

"I've got another file for you. Zinji has been spotted near the Rim trying to build up his forces again. Did you actually go home last night, or did you just fall asleep at your desk again?"

Han glared at her, but was more annoyed that she could tell than that she had asked.

"Why do ya ask?" Maybe he could still sidestep the topic.

"Because you never signed out last night and you haven't shaved this morning."

"Oh." Han rubbed the stubble on his chin and stifled a yawn. "So I put in a few extra hours last night, so what? Other people around here do that and I don't see you gettin' up their tails."

"While that may be true, no one else does it so often that General Reekan had to threaten to sedate them to make them go home!" Solo sighed; he'd been trying to forget about that. "General, you're of no use to the New Republic when you're working on three time parts of sleep a night! The New Republic won't fall apart if you weren't here constantly!" He felt a slight tightening in his chest; it had always been _him_ saying those words before…. "Go home and get some sleep, General."

Placing the files on his desk the secretary quietly walked out. Han glanced at the new documents she'd left him, then at his faint reflection on the shiny surface of his desk. He had dark circles under his eyes from endless nights with little sleep, his chin was sporting a five o'clock shadow, his hair was sticking out at odd angels, and he had undone the collar of his uniform, which was still rumpled from being slept in. His uniform hung from his shoulders bcause of all the weight he'd lost from forgetting to eat. All of this because he'd broken his promise to himself; he hadn't managed to stay 'solo.'

Sure, he'd flirted with women before her, but Han had never once let down his emotional barricades for anyone, ever. If he'd never agreed to transport Luke and Kenobi or just never gone into that cantina… but there was no way he could change that now. How could one woman hurt him so much?

_Because she lied to me_, Han thought. _She was just using me to pass the time._ But he knew that wasn't true, or, at least, he _thought_ he knew. Well, Han had also _thought_ she loved him and he'd been wrong. Oh so wrong.

_I love you! _

_I know._

Solo sighed and tried unsuccessfully to push the memory from his mind. He hadn't actually known on Besbin, he'd just hoped. Han had been to afraid that he'd never see her again and that somehow his words would hurt her, to say anything else. And when she had rescued him from carbonite, he'd truly believed that she loved him and he had loved her with every once of his being. No, there was no _had_ in that statement, he _still_ loved her, she just didn't love him back. Well, she was happy now. With a irritating, pre-Madonna prince, maybe, but she was happy and that was what counted. Or, that was what Solo told himself.

_Geeze, I'm startin' to sound like some kind of martyr, or something._ Turning back to the paper work on his desk, the general half-heartedly grinned to himself. She'd rubbed off on him more than he'd ever admitted to himself. Maybe that was why he'd buried himself under stacks on paperwork instead of just resigning his commission, just like she had after Alderaan. He couldn't have resigned though, what else would he have done? It wasn't as though he could get another job. No matter where he went, he wouldn't be able to escape what had happened. Every holo channel and newspaper in the Galaxy was running stories on the up and coming wedding of the last princess of Alderaan and the prince of the Hapes and the disappearance of a certain New Republic general, who'd been the lover of the princess.

_Where am I?_ Han thought morosely. _Living, no, _existing _under mounds of paperwork on one of the outer most outposts of the New Republic hiding from the media and reality._ Solo was startled out of his brooding by the beeping of his comm. Unit. He answered it,

"Solo here."

"Han? This is Reekan. I've arranged to for you to be in command of the three Star Destroyers that are being used as transport for a diplomatic mission to Akkinth. Getting out of your office will do you good and, you have to admit, it should, at the very least, be more interesting than living under a paper mache of political red tape."

"Ya, okay, what ever you say, Reekan. When do I leave?"

"In three days. On go back to your apartment and get some sleep. I don't want you in charge of a fleet after spending nearly an entire week without leaving your office!"

"How do you know that?"

"I never reveal my sources, Solo. Just remember, I have ears every where, so I'll know if you leave or not! Now get a move on!"

"Alright, alright, I'm going! Solo, out."

"Reekan, out." Solo stood up and stretched. Akkinth? Why was the New Republic trying to get a membership from Akkinth? Oh well, maybe he'd enjoy getting out again. Besides, Chewie would be having a fit right now about Han's behavior if he hadn't been visiting his family on Kashyyyk. Maybe nobody on Akkinth would recognize him.

_Oh, Leia. What have you done to my life?_

Leia frowned at the holo phone image of Mon Mothma,

"Yes, of course I'd be happy to take on the diplomatic venture to Akkinth, but wasn't Luke supposed to be doing that? He said the beings there had great respect for the Jedi."

"Master Skywalker is still uncertain of his diplomatic skills and requested your assistance," Mon Mothma sighed with slight exasperation, "though; I still believe that you should be spending this time in the Hapes, Leia."

Leia sounded slightly distant when she answered,

"It'll be alright Mon Mothma. When do I leave?"

"Three days."


	3. Chapter 3

Luke Skywalker paced the length of his small apartment nervously. Maybe he shouldn't be doing this. Maybe it wasn't his place to meddle. Maybe Leia really _was _happy. Maybe he was about to cause the next Galactic war…. Luke sat down on the edge of his couch and took a deep steadying breath. Jedi were supposed to remain calm at times, he should just relax and think through this logically…. Luke bounced off the edge of his couch and resumed his anxious pacing. To heck with Jedi discipline, none of the old masters had probably ever tried to stop their sister from making the absolute _worst_ mistake of her life, while simultaneously preventing their best friend from committing suicide because of that same sister. The young Jedi shuddered at the memory that thought conjured up in his mind.

Han had been sitting at his desk, blaster in one hand, and had been staring at it with an unnerving intensity,

_I mean, Kid, what's the point? Of living, I mean. I bet all I had and I lost it… and don't tell me I've got a lot left to live for, 'cause I ain't. No matter where I go, or what I do, I'm gonna be the guy that was the princess, now Queen of the Hapes's, consort. I can already hear them, 'What a sorry reck! What did Organa ever see in _him_?' It isn't really worth it, ya know? _

It had taken Skywalker nearly a week to talk Han out of the idea of just shooting himself and Rieekan was still keeping an eye on him, just in case. Luke ran a hand through his sandy hair tiredly, a gesture he'd picked up from Solo. At times, Luke wasn't sure whether to feel sorry for Leia because of how badly she'd managed to destroy her own life, or to be angry with her because of how terribly she'd treated Han. In Luke's opinion, all of this gave him every right to not feel calm and collected.

Just then, his comm link buzzed,

"Skywalker."

"Luke, Rieekan. Han's agreed to take on the command. How'd Leia respond to your request?"

"She said yes, no questions or complaints, which is, in its self, a little worrying."

"Yes… I sure hope you know what you're doing, Luke. Watching Leia go through intense depression after Alderaan was bad enough, I don't think I could live through a repeat performance from Han. Besides, we worked with the Rouge Squadron too long to get them together in the first place to let it end like this. Speaking of the Rouge Squadron, what are Antillies and Janson up to?"

"They'll be on the bridge crew of the flag ship to keep an eye on Han, while I keep an eye on Leia, remember?"

"Ah, yes, sometimes I do forget the many talents of the Rouge Squadron, other than flying and shooting, that is."

Luke grinned, "We aim to please!" he stopped as the doorbell for his apartment rang. "Leia's here, I've got to go!"

"May the Force be with you, Luke!"

_oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo_

Han Solo sat on the edge of his bunk in his cabin on the Star Destroyer _Destiny's Hope_; it was rather ironic that he was on that particular ship. Solo glared at the wall of his room, the day was not going well, it had taken nearly all of his will power just to get out of bed that morning. Then he'd gotten to the ship and discovered that Wes Janson and Wedge Antillies were on the bridge crew of the _Destiny_. Just what he needed, familiar people to ask questions and bug him about what had happened. Didn't the Kid do that enough to him? Han sighed; everything had gone wrong since she'd told him to 'Have a nice life.' What had ever happened to the famous 'Solo luck'? Now his fleet was on its way to Corsucant to pick up whichever diplomats he was suppose to transporting. The way today was going, one of them would probably be Mon Mothma, and maybe then when the fleet reached Akkinth, they'd all be blown up by Zinji's new fleet of Super Star Destroyers. Well, at least if he got blown up, he wouldn't have to face the media anymore… or Luke… or… Leia.

_oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo_

"Hurry up, Luke, we'll be late." Leia stared out one of the apartment's many windows. She didn't really want to go to Akkinth, but it would get her mind off all of this… mess, her so-called 'life.' The princess started as her brother tapped her on the shoulder,

"I'm all ready. The taxi's waiting downstairs." Luke smiled gently down at her.

"Oh."

The speeder drive seemed to Leia to last forever. After she'd found that 2-D, everything seemed to be taking longer. Everything seemed pointless, and Leia had begun to realize how little she did that didn't somehow the New Republic. When had she ever allowed herself to do something for just herself and no one else? Never probably, or, at least, not since she was very, very young, but ever since she'd gotten her first tutor, Leia had worked to help the Alliance, then the New Republic. Odd, that she'd never thought about it before. Falling in love with Han was the first real thing that she'd done without the Council's approval, actually, it had been to the Council's general disapproval. Except for Rieekan, that is. He'd been doing a bit of matchmaking since she and Han had arrived on Yavin IV.

The speeder slowed to a halt in front of the docking bay where the other New Republic diplomats that were coming to Akkinth were already boarding the Star Destroyer _Destiny's Hope_. A chauffer took their bags and Luke and Leia mounted the boarding ramp. Leia stopped as she heard a familiar voice yelling,

"Janson! Get outta there, or I swear, I will shoot you and let the technicians pick you out of there!" Her heart skipped a beat, what was _he_ doing here? But as he turned and caught sight of her, Leia let out a slight gasp. The uniform he was wearing hung off his shoulders, he'd lost a lot of weight since she'd last seen him and he'd never weighed that much to begin with. He seemed even more fatigued and stressed than before, and didn't appear to have slept in days.

_Oh, Force! What have I **done**!_

_oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo_

"Janson! Get outta there, or I swear, I will shoot you and let technicians pick you out of there!" Wes could be _so_ irritating, what the hell was he _doing_ anyway? Turning to head back to the bridge, Han suddenly caught sight of the figures silhouetted in the hatchway. It was… oh, gods! It was her! He froze. No, no, no, **_NO_**! Spinning on his heel, not caring how strange it would look, Han all but ran back to his cabin and hit the close button as fast as he could. Han sank to the ground and leaned against the wall trembling. This wasn't happening. This _wasn't **happening**!_

_(What do you think? Please R&R! It is your reviews upon which I thrive!)_


	4. Chapter 4

As Leia grabbed his wrist and dragged down the hallway after her, Luke wondered if the Force would mind its Jedi flat. Or, maybe just with every bone in their body broken… twice. From the look on his sister's face, Skywalker figured Wedge and Wes would be using a spatula to remove his remain from the walls in the very near future.

Luke slammed into then skidded around another corner in Leia's furious wake. She had a white knuckle grip on his arm. He could just make out a few of the stream of words Leia was muttering under her breath,

"…going to _kill_… how could he? …Hapes… Isolder… this shouldn't be… a very _dead_ Jedi… Mon Mothma is… Han… have I done?..."

The young Jedi bit his lip as he tried to decipher what she was talking about, other than his imminent death. She'd mentioned Han's name without anger – that was good. Leia'd also mentioned Isolder with no apparent displeasure. Bad? Maybe he had misjudged this entire thing and was about to die a gruesome death that would bring Han and Leia no closer to one another.

The sudden stop in front of Leia's cabin jolted Skywalker out of his contemplation. After calmly inserting her door key, Leia wrenched her door open dragged Luke inside then dropped him unceremoniously as she closed the door behind her. Luke quickly reassembled his formal black Jedi robes around him in some semblance of calm while internally he panicked. Leia stared down at him, unblinking,

"Explain." Skywalker had to mentally stop himself from squirming under her intense glare,

"Explain what?" he asked innocently hoping he could somehow bluff his way through this ordeal.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Luke!"

"No, as a matter of fact, I don't," he lied.

"Han. What is he doing on this ship?" Leia snapped.

"He's in charge of this fleet, that's why. Didn't Mon Mothma tell you?"

_oooooooooo _

Leia could _tell_ Luke was lying, but for some reason, she just couldn't pursue questioning him anymore. She just wanted to be alone.

"No, she didn't tell me." Leia turned away from him, suddenly, not wanting him to see her expression. "You should probably be checking that your door key works."

Luke waited a moment for her to say more, then taking his cue to leave, muttered,

"Yeah, I'd better do that now." Leia sighed when she heard the quiet click as Luke silently slipped out of her cabin and shut the door behind him. That was when Leia finally allowed herself to fall into a complete emotional wreck.

What had she **_done_**? Leia had known at some point she would see Han Solo again, but she had thought that it would be several years from now, after she was married to Isolder and probably had her first child, and from a distance. By then, the media would be leaving Han alone and she would have been able to delude herself into believing that she loved Isloder again! Maybe she would even be _happy_! But this timing was horrible! In a month, two weeks after this diplomatic venture on Akkinth was over, was Leia's wedding. The entire New Republic was counting on her to marry the Hapes for…

Leia paused and reassessed her last thought. Marry the Hapes? She was marrying Isolder! Was that really how she thought of it? She was actually marrying a planetary system, not a man? How had _that_ happened?

She flopped down on the cabin's narrow bed. She could feel tears stinging in the corners of her eyes. And Han… Some section of her brain still doubted whether she really loved him but- but- he'd looked… so…. Leia struggled to think of the right word to describe what she'd seen. Broken. He'd looked so _broken_. Like he was living on scraps of life and spare time. She'd seen that looked before a long time ago, back before the destruction of the second Death Star, but where? Leia grasped at the thought, trying to remember, but it was only a fleeting impression and the more she tried to concentrate on it, the fainter it grew until it was gone entirely.

A questioned pushed at the edge of Leia's mind. Why hadn't Han resigned his commission? One of the only reasons he had joined the New Republic in the first place had been her! So why hadn't he just left like he'd always claimed he would?

_Because he can't. Because I made it impossible for him to leave. I trapped him and before he's always been free!_

Leia felt a tear begin to trickle down her cheek as she slowly tried to collect the emotional tatters which had once been her heart.

_oooooooooo _

Han curled up against his cabin door. It felt like someone had stabbed a knife in his chest and twisted. She looked just as shocked as he was; she hadn't known he'd be there either… Wasn't his life bad enough as it was? Couldn't she just leave him alone now?

Han stared blankly at the gray cabin wall opposite him. _Why did I let this happen to me? How can I still love her? _

**Greetings oh wondrous readers! Please review! It is your reviews upon which I thrive and prevent exceedingly long and annoying bouts of writer's block like the one I just had! No worries, this piece won't stay melancholy forever. More positive chapters soon to come! So, please, review! **


	5. Chapter 5

The reporter stared down at his holo-camera with a look of manic glee as the diplomatic ship took off from the docking bay. He'd gotten it! The only reporter on the scene! And the picture of the century and _nobody had noticed_. Walking slowly back to the speeder taxi he had hired, the reporter held the camera like it might fall apart or turn to dust if he so much as breathed on it too hard. As the speeder pulled out into traffic, he dialed his tabloid's number in the com link he had brought with him,

"Hey, boss? Yeah, it's Rikk Staster. You'll never guess what I've got – the story of the century and the picture to prove it! What is it? Well, you know all that speculation about whatever happened to General Solo that's been going around? I've found him! He's in command of the _Destiny_. Yeah, the one Organa's on. What did I tell you? This is why you keep me!" Rikk Staster laughed as his cab sped towards Corsucant's media district.

Isolder paced impatiently up and down the corridors of the Ta'a Chume's palace in the Hapes. He _hated_ talking to his mother. She was one of the extremely few beings who still made him feel small and insignificant and weak after all this time. Nothing he did was ever good enough, as far as she was concerned and she was always comparing him with someone else when he did succeed using phrases like "that time you were almost as good as…." Well this time, Isolder was determined that he would please her by marrying Leia and producing an heir. The Ta'a Chume had even approved of the match and he loved Leia and, ever since that Han Solo character had disappeared, she had loved him too.

Pausing for a moment in his pacing, Isolder stared intently through one of the ten foot tall floor to ceiling windows which made the Palace of the Hapes feel so light and airy without really seeing the magnificent scenery before him. Han Solo. Isolder had yet to meet this shadowy man from Leia's past but from what he had heard through the news reports on the man's disappearance, Solo had been a smuggler and a pirate before he'd joined the New Republic. That was yet another thing about Leia which puzzled the prince. Why had she ever associated herself with such a piece of common, criminal slim – even if that slim _had_ gone on to be a top ranking general of the New Republic?

He sighed turning away from the window, the late afternoon light casting strange angular shadows across his face. How he longed to leave here and see Leia again. Actually he had been supposed to leave earlier that day so he could travel to Akkinth and surprise his darling Leia by being there to meet her and stay with her for the rest of the diplomatic mission like he had for her past several trips. After the day's talks were done he'd rub her shoulders and listen to her vent about the beings she was trying to negotiate with and he'd make jokes and try to make her laugh but she'd only smile and the smile would never quite reach her eyes because she was so exhausted. Sometimes he wondered why she never laughed. During all the time since Isolder had met her and then had become engaged to her, she had never once laughed in front of him. Leia had smiled plenty of times but, try as he might, he could never remember her actually remember her laughing. She had been laughing when he'd first seen her, months before they had finally been introduced. It was what had initially attracted him to her. Isolder sat down on one of the long window seats, closed his eyes and remembered the night he had first seen Leia.

_The Inter Galactic convention had been dragging on for hours and Isolder was desperate to leave. He had grown tired of dancing within the first half hour and the veil his mother always made him wear in public made it nearly impossible to eat or drink anything. Females of both humanoid and other races were clinging to him like leaches and, as far as Isolder was concerned, whoever was in charge of picking the music, should get a blaster to their head, but his mother had been very clear that – if he wanted to be able to pick the next Queen of the Hapes himself and not have his marriage arranged for him, then he would have to attend some diplomatic conventions. Isloder was fairly sure that the only reason she had said this was so that he would give up on the idea of picking his own wife and let her pick for him._

_Just as the prince managed to detach the latest leach-like young diplomat's daughter from his arm, Isolder heard quiet laughter – the most beautiful sound he had heard all evening. He looked around for the source of the out-of-place laugh and spotted a young woman near the edge of the dance floor. She was petite but her mere presence seemed to command attention, a sign of true royalty. Her long hair was swept up elegantly in numerous braids and a long gown of shifting blues and emerald green embraced her upper body and flowed to the ground. As she turned to speak to one of the men standing next to her who was dressed in formal looking black robes, Isolder caught a glimpse of her face. It shone as though lighted from within with such a radiant beauty, the type of which he had never encountered before on the Hapes, that it almost took his breath away. At that moment the other man with her whose arm she was holding leaned down and whispered something in her ear. This man was taller than the first with unruly coppery brown hair and a mischievous lopsided grinned on his face looking rather uncomfortable in the formal dark blue New Republic military uniform he was wearing. The woman's eyes widened at whatever the man had whispered and covered her mouth in an in vain attempt to stop herself from laughing again. She swatted the man's arm playfully and Isolder, who had by now moved closer, heard her reprimand, _

"_Stop it, this is supposed to be a serious event!" _

_The man's grin just widened,_

"_Everyone else is being serious enough for you." _

_Shaking her head, the woman said something more quietly. The military man nodded and she disappeared into the crowd just as one of the diplomat's daughters who had been plaguing Isolder latched onto the man in black robes and dragged him away towards the dance floor. Isolder moved forward quickly before the military man could also disappear into the crowd. He had to find out that woman's name! _

"_Excuse me?" _

_The man in the New Republic uniform glanced over at the prince of the Hapes somewhat disinterestedly, but looked more tired than anything, _

"_Yeah?" To Isolder's surprise he suddenly realized the man was Corellian not that it mattered. All that mattered was that woman's name. _

"_Who was that woman you were talking to just now?" _

"_Senator/Princess Leia Organa." Leia? What a beautiful name… And… Princess? Isolder nearly jumped for joy. She was _royalty

_After that, Isolder had spent the rest of the party searching for Leia to ask her to dance with him, but had only seen her once more from a distance on the dance floor slowly dancing arm in arm with the Corellian. Isolder felt the first twinge of jealousy prickling in his stomach. She looked absolutely and utterly content and happy and at peace with the world in that other man's arms. _

Isolder's eyes snapped open as he heard the doors of his mother's library open. A servant knelt respectfully before him,

"The Ta'a Chume will see you now."

Squaring his shoulders, Isolder crossed the threshold of the library to face his mother.

Leia blinked the tears out of her eyes as she stared at her reflection in the mirror and began to brush her hair. After resting and crying several months' worth of tears, Leia was finally for some strange reason feeling in control of her life again, which was odd considering this confidence had come at the moment when her life had just fallen apart as badly as it had after the destruction of Alderaan. This was different, though. When Alderaan had been destroyed there had been nothing she could do to change it, to put the planet back together or bring back those who had died for the dead. This time she wasn't married yet, Han was still alive, and she still loved him. Maybe he wouldn't have her back, she couldn't blame him after what she'd done to him, but she had to try. She'd never forgive herself if she didn't try and now was her chance while Isolder wasn't with her every waking moment of every day.

This was her chance to show Han that she still loved him.

Han slowly picked himself off the floor of his cabin. This was a big ship, other than at meal times he should be able to avoid Leia. His heart sank slightly – not that he wanted to avoid her, but it would be better for both of them if he made himself scarce. He could at least talk to Luke, though. Han straightened his uniform and squared his shoulders. He was Corellian, he could deal with this.

"And you're point of delaying my departure is?" asked Isolder respectfully but coldly. The Ta'a Chume folded her hands and glared at him,

"When I said that you could picked your own wife I expected you could at least maintain a hold on her until you were married and not cause scandal involving the Hapes!"

"Mother, what are you talking about?"

"This!" The Ta'a Chume threw a holonews article down in front of him. "Now what do you plan to do about this?!?"

Isolder picked up the tabloid article and read the title, **General Solo Back on the Scene** and felt his heart drop as he looked at the picture accompanying it. Yes, what indeed was he going to do about this?

_A/N: Review, Review, Review! It is your reviews upon which I thrive and am inspired to write more!!!_


	6. Chapter 6

_Now I know why Han always called me 'Ice Princess' when I first met him,_ thought Leia miserably as she flopped down on the bed in her cabin. Dinner had not gone well. Leia had received the same treatment from Han as she had given him for a long time – until his innuendos had been too much for her to take anymore – he'd managed not to speak a word more than necessary to her throughout the entire meal.

She rolled onto her side with a sigh. But really, what had she been expecting? After what she had done to him, this was by no means going to be easy. Han wasn't about to let himself get hurt again and Leia couldn't really blame him. Maybe she should try talking to Luke; he always seemed to have suggestions – even if they weren't always helpful. The old Jedi policy on love didn't exactly make them the best to turn to when it came to relationship issues. At least some of the strange old proverbs Luke had memorized were amusing.

Sitting up, Leia began slowly taking out the braids in her hair and setting down the various pins and clips beside her. It wasn't very late, but she felt exhausted anyway. Maybe some sleep would help her come up with a plan. Re-braiding her hair into two long, simple plaits, Leia removed her formal clothes and pulled a nightgown over her head before slipping between the sheets of her bed.

_ooooo_

Isolder leaned back in the seat of his person ship, thinking. The Ta'a Chume had arranged for him to board the _Destiny's Hope_ on its last drop out of hyperspace to pick up diplomats before the fleet arrived at Akkinth. Hopefully he would get there before anything happened to Leia. If Solo so much as lay one finger on her…

Turning his gaze away from the mesmerizing star streaks of hyperspace, the prince picked up the holonews article from its place on the seat next to him. The title glared at him accusingly in big, black, bold letters: **General Solo Back on the Scene**. Isolder frowned as he peered at the picture for the thousandth time that day. It wasn't the best quality picture ever taken. Leia's figure was as clear as day – surprise and shock evident in her expression even to those unfamiliar with how the Alderaanian princess expressed her emotions. Skywalker, too, was obviously surprised, though not quite as much as his twin and also looked rather worried. The Jedi's feelings were hard to read beyond that though.

Then there was the final person of interest in the holo. Unlike Leia and Skywalker who must have frozen at the sight of the third person, the man was in mid movement – his face blurred slightly and somewhat indistinct so that, unless one knew what they were looking for, the man would have been unrecognizable. Isolder didn't need to be able to see a face to be able to interpret the man's emotions, though, just the body language spoke volumes in and of its self. The man, who Isolder assumed was Solo, had been caught mid turn by the holographer, his head whipped back over his shoulder to look at the two people behind him. One foot wasn't solidly on the ground yet and his arms, strangely enough, were half raised in front of his chest in almost a defensive posture. Defensive, almost… afraid? No, that couldn't be right. Solo was trying to steal Leia away from him, not the other way around. It was _Solo_ who was the villain here.

The prince of the Hapes let the holo drop back to the seat next to him with a sigh. Was Solo trying to wreck Isolder's life or something? Drumming his fingers lightly on the top of the nav computer, Isolder closed his eyes searching for some sort of permanent solution to his problem in his mind, but none came.

_ooooo_

_Leia slipped silently across the patch of moonlight with filtered through one of the few grungy windows and onto the sandy floor in front of her. The filter of the hideous black helmet she wore made she breathing sound deafeningly loud and raspy to her own ears, though anyone else would have had to be within inches of her to actually hear it. She ducked furtively as her helmet accidentally brushed against a strange ornament hanging from the low ceiling. Quiet, Leia needed to be quiet, otherwise all would be for not. _

_Her black boots picked their way carefully through the unconscious, snoring beings who litter the floor near the rooms entrance. Within a matter of moments she had crossed the dark room and was standing at the very edge of another dim puddle of moonlight observing what she had come all this way for. Graceful steps carried her around the light staining the floor and to the side of the slab of cold metal which held him prisoner. Hesitantly, she depressed the lever on the wall causing the large object to come to the ground a little too quickly. A dull thud echoed around the room but none of the slumbering beings showed any signs of wakefulness as Leia hurriedly glanced their way. _

_Still not allowing herself the slightest sigh of relief, her fingers quickly engaged the systems to wake him up and free him. The key pad blinked green several times and Leia took several steps back, inwardly cringing at the high pitched tone created as the carbonite slowly began to melt away reluctantly releasing its prisoner. Han's body fell limply to the ground with a sickening thud and Leia quickly darted to his side to help him. She pulled him into her arms and cradled his head and shoulders like he was a child but he didn't respond to this contact. _

_Under her helmet Leia's brows furrowed. Something felt wrong… Her eyes widened. Han wasn't moving _at all._ Wrenching off her helmet Leia peered desperately down into his face searching for signs of life, _any _signs of life, but his expression was blank – a cold, lifeless mask. She was too late. After all she had done to get him back Han had still died! _

_Tears brimmed in her eyes and she buried her face into his lifeless chest, longing to feel his warmth and hear his steady heartbeat – knowing that it would never happen again. From somewhere behind her Leia heard someone begin to laugh. As she slowly raised her head, Leia found that she was no longer on the floor of Jabba's palace, but in a bright, light, airy room – the ballroom on the Hapes where she had first met Isolder and danced with him so many months ago. She shuffled around on her knees still gently holding Han's limp form to see who it was who was behind her. Her eyes widened in surprise. _

_There stood Isolder, the Ta'a Chume, and Mon Mothma the latter two both smiling at her nastily. Isolder, who was lying on a stylish couch, sat up and patted the cushion next to him. _

"_Come here, Leia." It was a command instead of a request. She shook her head and the three frowned. _

"_Do as he says, Leia, for the good of the New Republic," insisted Mon Mothma, but again Leia stubbornly shook her head, clutching Han nearer her chest._

"_Fine then," snarled the Ta'a Chume, the terrifying gleam in her eye visible even through the vale she always wore, "if you won't come when you are told, you shall face the consequences!" _

_Suddenly the lifeless body in Leia's arms stirred and as she looked down Han's hazel eyes slowly opened and peered up at her. _

"_Leia…?" It was barely a rasping whisper, but her heart jumped for joy. _

"_You're alive!" She bent down to kiss him but was jerked back as a metal collar and chain materialized around her neck. The chain drew taunt once more and began to drag her towards the couch and Isolder half strangling her in the process. "No! Han!" The cry ripped from her lungs as the collar slackened enough for her to speak. The Corellian watched her helplessly from the floor where she'd left him as Isolder's arms circled around her waist and lifted her onto the couch next to him. _

"_My new Queen of the Hapes," he said stroking her hair and sounding immensely pleased with himself. The Ta'a Chume leaned down next to her ear and whispered in a voice that reminded Leia of hundreds of fingernails screeching down blackboards, _

"_Now do you see what happens when you do not do as you're told?" _

_Leia looked down at her lap and found that she was no longer wearing the bounty hunter's disguise she had used to rescue Han. Instead, she was wearing the white senatorial robes that she had had on the Death Star. Her head snapped up. _

_She _was _on the Death Star again, but there was no Tarkin, no Darth Vader, only Isolder, the Ta'a Chume, and Mon Mothma. Alderaan was floating peacefully outside the view port and… and on the floor in front of her… lay Han, but he wasn't alone. Luke and Rieekan were sprawled lifeless on the ground too. No… no… _

_Mon Mothma looked away from Leia for a moment and smiled at one of the operators who was wearing one of the oddly shaped black helmets. _

"_Fire when ready." _

_The Ta'a Chume was smiling as well, _

"_You're far too trusting." _

"_**NOOOO!!!**__" _

_ooooo_

Luke could hear the screaming through his supposedly sound proof wall and it was only a matter of moments before he was abusing his Force powers by using them to force the lock on Leia's door because he didn't have a key. He found her curled up in a ball on the bed, sheets strewn everywhere, still sobbing in her sleep. Grabbing he shoulders Luke shook her, a little more forcefully than he had intended to. Her eyes snapped open and she quieted as her watery eyes peered at his face.

"L- Luke?"

"Yeah, it's me. I'm right here. It was just a nightmare."

Leia shook her head and wiped the back of her hand across her eyes.

"Even so," she started hesitantly, voice still a little hoarse from all the screaming she'd done in her sleep, "there's something I need to talk to you about."

Inwardly, Luke let out a relieved sigh.

_A/N: SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME!!! I have lots of ideas for after Han and Leia get back together and all that but I have no clue how to go about getting them back together in the first place! Some thoughts from y'all would REALLY be appreciated! It would also help me to be able to update faster. Anyway, thanks for reading! Hope you're enjoying the story!_


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